My Soapbox

It has been far too long since I have been on here and I have many things that I want to get down before I lose them in my foggy memory forever, but what is foremost in my mind lately is the upcoming presidential election.  

I feel like a lot of people give the President (any President, not just this particular one) too much credit and not enough at the same time.  And being a politician seems to be a bad thing these days, while being a businessman dabbling in politics is somehow better.  But let's get one thing straight.   They are all politicians. They all make or have made a portion of their livelihood from the government. None of them are going to take away guns. None of them are going to single-handedly fix the economy.  If fact, none of them are going to do anything radical because we have this beautifully frustrating system of checks and balances. 

So it comes down to philosophy rather than policy. The common mass of people have rarely benefitted from businesses proliferating in our society without some government oversight. The goal of business in our chosen economic system of capitalism is to make money.  The goal of government in our chosen political system of representational democracy is to protect the mass of citizens under its watch. 

The last time that business had unchecked profits and no government oversight was during the Gilded Era about a century ago and this is just one of the things that happened:

Photos by Lewis Hine: http://www.morningsonmaplestreet.com/lewishine.html

Child labor was rampant and many of these children died or were maimed working for companies who made record profits while their families floundered and relied on their wages for survival.  We don't see that much anymore in this country because our companies are no longer "American" but rather global companies.  There are, however, still 215 million children working either part-time or full-time in conditions similar to those above, if not worse.*  It is simply not in the nature of capitalism to regulate itself.  Capitalism is an economic system.  It has no moral code, which is why we need government.  

Now, when big business makes a profit, then that is arguably good for society as a whole. When government is successful at representing the interests of everyone else, then that is good for people on a more individual basis. Let's not confuse the two and instead, keep them as weary partners, safe in the knowledge that while they don't have to like each other, they do have to get along and work together. 

I take my role as a citizen very seriously and I want a president who values my contribution as a citizen and not as a business partner.  We don't need to agree with everything our President does, but we do need to believe in our President's (and our government's) ability to fight on our behalf.  We are the ones who need it.

*http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/child-labour/lang--en/index.htm